I am thinking of going by bike (Harley) to the playa. Any experience anybody can share? E.g.: Riding on the playa, how to protect the bike from dust, how to get the water there. Also, I will be riding from San Francisco. Anybody interested in a riding group, and / or possibly camping together?

You would probably have to depend on buying ice for your water needs. Hauling 10 gallons on your bike would really suck!

Consider that you have to haul out whatever garbage you create, so keep packaging to a minimum. I could live on jerky, dried fruit and nuts for the week,,,,, Trish demands "real food" so that is not an option for me. It would be very practical for you though. You could also prepay to eat at certain 'cafeterias" which offer meals for citizens who make the arrangements off playa.

Be aware there is no lane splitting in Nevada and you have an aircooled engine,,,, correct? Miles of crawling traffic and gobs-of-bunches of talc-like dust. It will get your shiny ride dirty and challenge anything metalic to start corroding.

I think simonoftheplaya has ridden his bike all the way from New York to the playa at least once. I'm sure he'd have some tips if he sees the thread. Though he camped with a large theme camp, so he probably didn't have some of the logistics problems of having to bring everything in on his bike.

JKhttp://www.mudskippercafe.comWhen I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle.Then I realized that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me

You could do it, but I sure as hell wouldn't put my bike through it. Plus riding at >5mph in traffic on a bumpy dirt road is not my idea of a good ride. (Plus my ass would be killing me... )

Trishntek wrote:Be aware there is no lane splitting in Nevada and you have an aircooled engine,,,, correct? Miles of crawling traffic and gobs-of-bunches of talc-like dust. It will get your shiny ride dirty and challenge anything metalic to start corroding.

Do you have experience riding at parade speeds? Get one of those springy hand strengthening things and start building up strength in your left hand, 'cause you'll be feathering the clutch a lot.

Make sure you have good fresh synthetic oil in the bike 'cause it will be running hot.

If you're only going for the weekend, you could probably bring your own water, but otherwise best thing would be to have a non-riding friend drive in with your supplies.

You could park on a tarp and use a bike cover to help keep the dust off, but the wind will cause the cover to flap around, and it might rub the paint. Might be better to just let the bike get dusty and blow it off with compressed air when you get home.

I'd guess you could lane-share on the entrance road. Not sure how the Nevada LEO would enforce that there, but caveat rider.